Evaporative cooler



Dec. 13, 1966 E. A. SCHONROCK EVAPORATIVE COOLER 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledAug. 26, 1964 Edwin A. Schonroc/g Deceased By Ver/ie Schonroclr,Execufr/x INVIZN'I OK ,1! 1'! W Am,

5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 26, 1964 Fig.9

Edwin A. Schonmc/r, Deceased Var/lie Schonmc/r, Execufrix INVENTOR.

WWEENQ Dec. 13, 1966 E. A. SCHONROCK 3,290,856

EVAPORATIVE COOLER Filed Aug. 26, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Edwin A.Schonrock, Deceased By Var/[e Sahanroc/r, Execufrix IN VEN'IOR.

Attorneys Dec. 13, 1966 E. A. SCHONROCK EVAPORATIVE CO OLER 5Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 26, 1964 A m U w Edwin A. Schonrqc/r, DeceaseqBy fi/er/ie Snhanmck, Execufnx INVIZN'I'OR.

United States Patent 3,290,866 EVAPORATIVE COOLER Edwin A. Schonrock,deceased, late of San Angelo, Tex, by Verlie Schonrock, executrix, 2005Christoval Road, San Angelo, Tex.

Filed Aug. 26, 1964, Ser. No. 392,335 Claims. (Cl. 55-229) Thisinvention comprises a novel and useful evaporative cooler and moreparticularly pertains to an air cooling device of the automatic typeparticularly adapted for household use and the like and which shall beespecially suitable for use and effective in relatively hot and aridregions.

It is generally well known that the overall efliciency of an evaporatingtype of cooler or air conditioner depends upon the humidity of theregion in which it is employed. In those areas, therefore, where arelatively low humidity of the atmosphere and a relatively hightemperature may be normally expected, the evaporative type ofconditioner is extremely effective. The present invention deals with anair conditioner and cooler of this type.

However, the evaporative type of air conditioner or cooler hasheretofore had a relatively low life expectancy during normal operation.Owing to the continuous contact of water with exposed surfaces of theair conditioner or cooler of this type, there is a resultant high rateof corrosion of such surfaces. Thus, while the initial cost of anevaporative type of refrigerator may be relatively low as compared tothat of a mechanical type refrigerator, its life expectancy is veryshort necessitating replacement at relatively short intervals.

It is therefore the primary object of this invention to provide anevaporative type of cooler which will largely overcome theaforementioned disadvantage of prior evaporative coolers to the end thata life expectancy comparable with that of mechanical refrigerators maybe expected.

A further object of the invention is to provide an evaporative coolerwhich shall be of a relatively compact and yet attractive construction.

A further purpose of the invention is to provide an evaporative coolerhaving a greatly improved and highly efficient evaporating and coolingaction.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an evaporativecooler in which a quantity of water is recirculated throughout thesystem in order to effect the evaporating and cooling action with aminimum consumption of water.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an evaporativecooler having an unusually wide range of adjustable cooling capacity forthe device.

Still another purpose of the invention is to provide an evaporativecooler in accordance with the foregoing objects which through the use ofpackage units will greatly facilitate its assembly or disassembly, itsservicing and repairing as may be necessary.

Yet another purpose of the invention is to provide an evaporative coolerwhich shall have an improved evaporating pad disposition and arrangementthereby facilitating regular replacement of or servicing of theevaporating pad as may be necessary.

Still another purpose of the invention is to provide an evaporativecooler wherein the previously encountered tendency of certain priorevaporative coolers to discharge a spray of water particles by virtue ofthe operation of the air blowers thereof is completely eliminated.

A further and more specific object of the invention is to provide anevaporative cooler which will largely overcome the effects of corrosionthrough the use of economical, non-corrodible material such as fiberglass.

A further and more specific object of the invention in accordance withthe immediately preceding object is to provide a device in accordancewith the preceding objects in which fiber glass housings are reinforcedand strengthened to enable them to withstand the structural strains ofsupporting the power operated air blowers forming a part of the device.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the front of a domestic evaporativecooler or air conditioner embodying therein the principles of thisinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view from the rear of the cooler of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a view in vertical transverse section taken upon an enlargedscale of the cooler of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially upon theplane indicated by the section line 4-4 of FIGURE 3 and showing inparticular the disposition1 of the two independently operable airblowers of the coo er;

FIGURE 5 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially upon theplane indicated by the section line 5-5 of FIGURE 3 and showing thelower portion of the cabinet including the water containing sumpthereof;

FIGURE 6 is a view in vertical longitudinal section taken substantiallyupon the plane indicated by the broken section line 66 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of the removable a-ir blower package unitof the cooler;

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of the water spray conduit system of thecooler;

FIGURE 9 is a group perspective view of a pair of the evaporator pads ofthe cooler;

FIGURE 10 is a detail view of the mounting of the louvers upon thecooling air outlet of the cooler;

FIGURE 11 is a detail view in perspective of a portion of a distributingpan for the evaporating unit of the device; and

FIGURE 12 is a fragmentary detail view in perspective of a modifiedconstruction in which the cooled air outlet is adapted for connection toan updraft or a downdraft air cooling system.

In the accompanying drawings, the numeral 10 designates generally ahousehold type of air conditioner constructed in accordance with theprinciples of this invention. It will be understood, however, that theinvention is not limited to this embodiment or apparatus but that manyof the features of the invention are applicable to other devices and forother purposes.

The apparatus illustrated includes a. cabinet or casing 12 whichconstitutes a housing for various components of the air conditioner orcooler. In the interest of lightness, economy, durability and resistanceto corrosion and dampness, the cabinet 12 is of a non-corro-diblematerial such as fiber glass or other plastic. It is of a molded orpreformed character such as to provide a unitary shell having suitableopenings therein and upper and lower back closures 14 and 16 forpurposes which will become apparent. The front of the cabinet at itsupper portion is provided with a forwardly projecting cold air dischargeduct 18 while the front wall below this outwardly projecting duct isprovided with a pair of screened air inlet openings each indicated bythe numeral 20. A similar pair of rearward screen openings at 22 areprovided in the lower back closure 16 in alignment with the frontopenings 20 whereby air from both the front and back of the cabinet isadmitted to the interior thereof.

port the member 42 thereon.

C binet It will be appreciated that the cabinet itself may beconstructed in various manners in accordance with this invention. Onevery satisfactory mode of construction consists in forming a laminatedshell by applying sheets of suitable material upon an appropriate innermold form, spraying a suitable cementitious or binding agent upon thesuccessively applied sheets which may be of fiber glass and repeat thisoperation until a laminated shell of appropriate thickness for thedesired structural strength is formed. After the preformed laminatedshell has set sufficiently, it is then stripped from the mold form andthus provides a unitary shell including, as shown best in FIGURES 3 and5, a pair of side walls 24 and 26, a bottom wall 28, a top wall 30together with a front wall 32 and an open back closed by the upper andlower closures 14 and 16. The previously mentioned cold air dischargeduct 18 is integral with and projects forwardly from the upper portionof the front wall 32 above the screened openings 20.

Referring now to FIGURE 3 it will be observed that there is secured uponthe side walls 24 and 26 intermediate the top and bottom walls 28 and30*, a generally rectangular support frame consisting of pairs ofsupport members each indicated by the numeral 34 and which may be in theform of angle members of a suitable rust resistant material. These sidesupport members 34 of the support frame are suitably secured to the sidewalls in any desired manner in a horizontal parallel relation and serveas support rails or tracks upon which a blower unit indicated generallyby the numeral 36 is supported for sliding movement into and out of theupper portion of the cabinet 12 when the upper closure 14 is removedtherefrom. In this manner, the blower unit (FIGURE 7) which comprisesthe means for propelling the cooled air through the device may be easilyintroduced into or withdrawn from the cabinet as a package unit therebyfacilitating assembling, dismantling or servicing of the airconditioner.

. The intermediately disposed support member frame thus divides theinterior of the cabinet 12 and delineate an upper or blower compartment38 and a lower or evaporator compartment 40, access to each of which canbe had by removing the appropriate upper or lower back closure members14 and 16.

The outer or discharge end of the cold air discharge duct 18 is providedwith a detachable flow controlling register. For this purpose, as willbe seen in FIGURES 4, 6 and 10, there is provided a combined registerand closure indicated generally by the numeral 42 and which preferablyis in the form of a plate-like body having a flat plate-like element 44provided with inwardly projecting struck'out tabs 46 providing inwardlyprojecting louvers or fins. The peripheral wall of the member 44 isprovided with a rearwardly projecting flange 48 having setscrews 50therein for mounting upon the duct 18.

An adapter and retainer member in the form of a rectangular frame 52 ischannel-shaped in cross-section as shown in FIGURE and has its innerperipheral flange 54 received within the open end of the duct 18 withits outer peripheral fiange 56 being disposed outwardly therefrom. Thesetscrew 50 extends through aligned openings in the flanges 48 and 56engaging against the side of the duct 18 so as to securely anchor andsup- Suitable rivets or the like as at 58 may be provided toindependently secure the adapter member 52 to the end of the duct 18.

It will be appreciated that any suitable shutter arrangement, not shown,may be utilized in conjunction with the louvered openings of the fins 56to adjustably control the effective discharge area of the duct.

The openings formed on the front Wall 32 and openings 22 formed on thelower back closure 16 are preferably of identical construct-ion. Asshown best in FIG- URE 6, the peripheries of these openings are providedby an inwardly projecting flange 60 which is also preferably projectedoutwardly of the openings to thus provide a frame-like rectangular ribabout the periphery of both the inner and outer sides of the openings.Closure screens 62 are seated within these opening frames 60 and areretained in any suitable manner as for example by frictional engagementtherewith. These screens serve to effectively filter and prevent thepassage of dust into the evaporator compartment 40 of the cabinet, andmay be readily removed for cleansing when necessary. It should be herenoted that in certain arid regions where there is considerable dustpresent in the atmosphere, this dust tends to enter the evaporatingchambers of evaporative coolers and in a short time not only clogs andprovides an accumulation of dirt therein but also gives rise tounpleasant odors. The use of the screens of this invention serve toeffectively abate this nuisance and insure the inlet of dustfree airinto the cooler thereby greatly contributing to the comfort of the user.

In the embodiment of FIGURES 1-11, the duct 18 is considered to extendhorizontally from the front wall of the cabinet. This is a preferablelocation when the device is to function as a household air conditioneror room cooler. However, when the device is to be employed inconjunction with a building ventilating system, the duct 18 may bereplaced by a specialized connector duct 64 as shown in FIGURE 12. Thislatter duct has its open discharge end 66 directed either verticallyupwardly or downwardly or at some desired angle in order that it may beconnected to an updraft or a downdraft ventilating system of a house orother building structure so as to directly connect the output of coldair from the device into such a system.

Evaporaiing mechanism Attention is now directed to the novel evaporatingmechanism which cools the air by vaporizing water, whose vaporization inturn withdraws heat from the air. The evaporating mechanism of theinvention is completely housed within the evaporator compartment 40 orin the lower portion of the cabinet.

The evaporating mechanism comprises as its components an assembly ofevaporator pads and their mounting means for evaporating the water andcooling the air, a circulating water supply to the evaporator padsinclud ing a pump together with a spring manifold assembly, distributingpans for {supplying an adequate flow of water continuously to theevaporating surfaces of the evaporator pads together with a baffleassembly which prevents the induction of unvaporized, solid particles ofwater from the evaporator mechanism into the air inlet of the blowerunit.

A plurality of evaporator pads 68 each of which comprises a plate-likebody are disposed in a generally parallel vertically extending relation,four such pads being shown in FIGURES 3 and 5. The pads preferablycomprise a mass of relatively loosely nested aspen excelsior strandsalthough other suitable fibrous or porous materials may be used andwhich are retained in a slab-like configuration as by means of a loosewire mesh envelope. A wire mesh of loosely woven character withrelatively large spaces between the strands resembling chicken wirefencing is satisfactory for this purpose, the wire mesh being of arustproof character. For this purpose, a sheet of wire mesh is utilizedfor each pad, being folded about the pad into a casing or housing whoseends are then joined as shown in FIGURE 9. The wire mesh serves toretain the relatively loose strands of the pads in their desired shapeto facilitate their handling, and sufficiently retain their originalconfiguration to enable them to present their maximum surfaces for waterabsorption and evaporation.

Each of the pads 68 preferably comprises two sections each indicatedgenerally by the numerals 72 and disposed in side-by-side relation asshown in FIGURE 6-. The

arrangement is such that although the pads are of greater verticalheight than that of the openings 2% or 22, the adajcent vertical edgesof the transversely aligned pads can be disengaged from each other, thepads inclined and then withdrawn are inserted through the openings whenchanging of the pads is necessary.

As will be noted from FIGURES 3 and 6, the lower ends of each of thepads rest directly upon the bottom wall 28 of the cabinet while theupper ends terminate very slightly below the upper edge of the openings20 and 22 and just below the support members 34. The pads are disposedin pairs each pair embracing or being disposed upon and against the sidewalls of hte frames 6d of the associated openings 20 and 22 in a mannerwhich will be readily understood from a consideration of FIGURES 3 and5. Thus, the pairs of pads enclose vertically and transversely extendingpassages 74 and 76 between the inlet openings 20 and 22.

It will be noted from FIGURE 5 that each pad 68 extends from a frontwall 32 to a back wall defined by the lower closure 16, engaging boththe front wall and the back wall and thus present porous wall surfacesforming the vertical unobstructed air passages 74 and 76. The pads areretained in place by the frictional gripping fit of their edges with thebottom wall 28, the front wall 32 and the cooperating rear wall formedby the bottom closure 16 and by their abutting engagement with the twovertical sides of the openings 20 and 22 disposed therebetween. Inaddition, the top edges of the pads of each pair are retained inposition by the bridging engagement thereof by the water distributingpans '78 whose opposite ends rest upon and are supported by the topwalls of the frame 60 of the openings 20 and 22 as shown in FIGURE 3 soas to enclose the air passages 74 and 76 forcing air to flowtransversely through the porous pads.

Each of the pans 78 is made of a non'rusting material and may be ofmetal or a suitable plastic material as desired. Each pan consists of amain flat planar central portion 8t) as shown in FIGURE 11 whoseopposite longitudinal edges are provided with longitudinally extendingV-shaped troughs 82 the outer ends of which are provided withdownt-urned flanges 84. As shown in FIGURE 3 the arrangement is suchthat the V-shaped troughs rest upon and depress the upper edges of thepad 68 to firmly engage the latter with the downturned flanges 84overlying and embracing the outer edges of the pads whereby the latterare securely locked together against the opening frame 6b.

In addition, the troughs 82 serve to distribute water from the supplytube 94 as set forth hereinafter, longitudinally along the length of thetroughs and to thus distribute the water uniformly to the top edges ofeach of the pads through water discharge openings or vent-s 86 in thetroughs. It will be noted from FIGURE 11 that these vents or openings 86are of upwardly increasing width to thus provide rib-shaped slots. Thepurpose of this arrangement is to prevent clogging of these openings bythe possible accumulation of lint or fibers thereinto since the flow ofwater accumulating to a greater depth within the trough 82 would tend towash away any obstructions which tend to clog these openings 86.

It will be noted that there are provided two such water distributingpans, one for each pair of the pads and thus one overlying each of theair passages 74 and 76. When water is supplied to the troughs upon thetop of the distribution pans 78, it will be seen that it will bedischarged through these vents 86 vertically downwardly through the pads68 thereby soaking the entire pad and maintaining a supply of water ateach of the inner and outer surfaces of each of the pads. Consequently,air entering the air passages 74 and 76 through the opposite openings 2tand 22 of each passage will first contact the two vertical surfaces onthe insides of the two associated pads, picking up and absorbingmoisture therefrom; will pass through the material of the pads pickingup further moisture; and then will emerge from the outer surface of eachof the associated pair of pads still further vaporizing and absorbingmoisture. Thus the air will be effectively moistened, thereby vaporizingthe maximum quantity of water and produce the maximum cooling eifectupon the air. The air discharging from the opposite sides of each of thepair of pads is thus effectively cooled, and rising from the evaporatorchamber will enter the blower compartment for discharge through the coolair outlet duct 18 as set forth hereinafter.

In addition to the evaporator pads and the water distribution pans, theevaporator compartment includes a water supply and water circulatingsystem. This likewise is preferably of a unitary assembly or a packageunit which may be applied, installed or removed as a unitary assembly.

The construction of the circulating system or assembly is shown inFIGURE 8 and is indicated .in its installed position in FIGURE 3. Thewater circulating system includes any conventional type of water pump 88powered from any suitable source as by an electric motor indicated at 90through any suitable wiring system (not shown). The pump rests upon abase 92 which may be stationarily secured in place upon the bottom wall28 in any desired manner or may be movably rested thereon. The pump 88has its outlet connected to a flexible plastic conduit 94 which througha T fitting 96 supplies water to each of a pair of branch conduits 93.The ends of the latter terminate in T connectors ltltl from which.extend oppositely directed pipes 1G2 terminating in discharge nozzles104. The arrangement is such that the pipes 102, as shown in FIGURE 3,may rest upon or overlie a distributing pan 73 with the nozzle 11% beingdirected into the troughs 82 of the distributing pan 78 so as todirectly supply a stream of water to the latter from whence the waterdischarges through the vents 86 downwardly through the pads 68.

It will thus be appreciated that the water circulating system may bereadily applied to or removed from the evaporator compartment of thedevice thereby greatly facilitating installation or dismantling from theapparatus.

In some instances, a constant supply of water may be supplied to andmaintained at a desired level within the cabinet. In other instances,however, when water is at a premium, the automatic water supply may beomitted and the device supplied with additional water from time to timeas may be necessary. Thus, the bottom portion of the evaporativecompartment 40 constitutes a water sump in which the pump 88 isimmersed.

When it is desired to connect the apparatus to a proper source of watersupply, a suitable source of water, not shown, may be connected to awater inlet valve assembly as at 106 provided with a float control valve108 carrying a float 116. These units may be disposed in one of the airpassages such as the passage 76 with the valve assembly 106 resting uponthe bottom wall 28.

Inasmuch as the water for evaporation is delivered at the upper portionof the evaporator chamber immediately below the blower compartment,there is considerable danger that the suction from the blower fans ofthe blower compartment would produce an upward travel of particles ofwater and discharge them in the form of water drops or spray from thecold air discharge duct 18. Obviously, this condition is highlyundesirable. To eliminate this possibility, there is provided a bafllemeans inter posed between the inlet to the blower fans of the blowercompartment and the upper portion of the evaporator compartment abovethe water distribution pans. These bafiles, each indicated by thenumeral 112 comprises a pair of plates, (see FIGURES 3, 4 and 6) whichare im terp-osed between the pipes 102 and the lower ends of the blowerelements. These plates are mounted in any suitable manner, as upon thelower side of the blower unit, upon the walls of the interior of thecabinet or are supported by and disposed above the top of thedistribution pan 78. The actual mdunting of these baffles is notcritical for the purpose of this invention and therefore further 7illustration is deemed to be unnecessary. As a result of these bafiiesdirect upward passage of water particles from the nozzles 104 of thewater distribution pan 78 into the lower-inlet end of the blowers isprecluded.

Blower unit In order to obviate erosion, the blower unit 36 consists ofa housing or casing 114 of either a rustproof metal but preferably of amolded fiber glass or plastic housing. The nonmetallic housing ispreferred not only because of its lower cost but also because of itslighter weight and the cushioning and sound deadening effect which ithas upon the sounds and vibrations which would arise from the operationof the blowers. The housing is constructed in the form of twocylindrical bodies integrally joined together and includes twosemi-circular walls 116 each of which partially encloses a blowerchamber 118. The forward ends of the walls join each other and providesideby-side discharge openings 120 from the housing which are in directalignment with the discharge duct 13 as shown in FIGURE 4. It will beappreciated that the housing 114 may be formed in any suitable manner,preferably by molding or the like. Received in each housing is a blowerwhich preferably is of the squirrel-cage type as indicated by thenumeral 122 consisting of a central vertically disposed axle 124 uponthe mid-portion of which is disposed a disk or spider 126 carrying thesquirrel-cage fan blades 127. The blower shafts 124 are provided withsuitable bearing assemblies 128 and 130 at its upper and lower ends andpass through the top and bottom walls 132 and 134 respectively of theblower housing 114. The upper ends of each blower shaft is provided witha driven pulley 136 which is connected as by a drive belt 138 to thedriving pulley 140 of a source of power such as an electric motor 142.It will be observed that each blower thus has its own source of powerconnected thereto. Each electric motor in turn is provided with electriccurrent by any suitable circuitry, not shown, and each motor is of avariable speed type as for example a two speed motor with suitablecontrol means, not shown, of a conventional character, being providedtherefor. Each motor is controlled independently so as to afford the useof each motor either alone or in conjunction with the other motor andblower thereby enabling the obtaining of five different volumes ofairflow. The volumetric capacity of the apparatus is therefore readilyand widely variable.

By actual experiment it has been found that although a fiber glasshousing affords the desired sound deadening effect and resilientcushioning action for the blower elements and their drive means, itlacks the requisite strength to provide a sufiiciently long life. Inorder to correct this defect there has been provided a reinforcing cageassembly for the blower housing as more clearly shown in FIG- URE 7.

This reinforcement assembly consists of longitudinally extending anglemembers 144 having perpendicularly extending leg members 146 likewise ofangle member construction. The longitudinally extending strap 148 joinsthe intermediate portion of the uppermost of the hori- .zontal legsmembers 146, all as shown in FIGURE 7, while a corresponding lowermember 150, see FIGURE 6, joins .the two lower horizontal legs 146.Vertical connecting members 152 together with the plates 154 rigidlyconnect the adjacent ends of the horizontal members 144 and the legmembers 146 into a rigid assembly. The two top and bottom transversebrace straps 148 and 150 mount the bearings 128 and 130 and arepreferably channel members with a filler strip of hardwood therein whichacts as a noise absorbing support for the blower shaft bearings. It willbe noted that the motors 142 are each mounted upon one of the plates 154which constitutes a base or support means therefor so that the motorsare directly supported by the reinforcing cage rather than by the fiberglass material of the blower housing 114.

As will be noted best from FIGURES 3 and 6, the bottom wall 134 of theblower housing is provided with a pair of inlet openings 156 which aredisposed beneath the main central portion of the blower fans and whoseperipheries have upturned flanges as at 158. These flanges serve asguide lips to direct the air cooled by the evaporated liquid which risesfrom the top of the evaporator compartment 40, passes around the bafiles112 and enters axially into the squirrel cage rotor chambers of theblowers, being discharged therefrom through the outlets into thedischarge duct 18.

It will be observed that appropriate electrical connections are providedfor the two motors 142 which may be readily disengaged in order that theentire motor unit 34 may be moved into or removed from the blower unitcompartment 38 when the back upper closure 14 is removed.

Suitable electrical controls are provided for regulating the operationof the blower motors 142 and of the circulating pump motor 90. Thiselectric circuit may include a control cable such as that shown at 160and which is connected to any suitable source of electrical current witha control means which may be mounted upon or provided within the ductlouvered closure and plate 42 and operated by means of suitable controlbuttons as at 162, diagrammatically indicated in FIGURE 1.Alternatively, the control means may be removed from the device ifdesired, the actual location and character of the control means beingitself no part of the present invention.

Through actual testing of this invention operation in a highlysuccessful manner in climates of high temperature and a relatively lowhumidity has been achieved as aforementioned with units that arecompact, extremely quiet in operation and because of the use of fiberglass or plastic material in the cabinet and in the blower housings, theunits are substantially vibrationless and highly corrosion resistant.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An evaporative cooler comprising, a cabinet having separate upper andlower compartments, inlet and outlet openings formed in said cabinetrespectively communicating with the lower and upper compartments, flowinducing means mounted within said upper compartment for establishing aflow of air through the lower compartment discharged through the outletopening, spaced absorption means mounted within said lower compartmentpresenting stationary porous walls forming an unobstructed flow passageterminated at opposite ends by said inlet openings for said flow of airthrough the lower compartment in spaced relation to the uppercompartment, flow blocking means within the lower compartment fordirecting said air transversely from said flow passage through theporous walls of the absorption means, distributing conduit meanssupplying water to the absorption means for moisturizing the air passingthrough the porous walls thereof, and imperforate baffle means mountedinside of the cabinet spaced above the flow blocking means and adjacentto the flow inducing means in the path of said air flow for pre ventingdischarge of moisture particles with the air from the outlet opening,said flow blocking means comprising a member bridging the porous wallsof the absorption means and having trough portions aligned with saidwalls, said trough portions having apertures therein through which waterfrom the distributing conduit means enters the absorption means, saidflow inducing means including at least one bladed rotor, rigid framemeans removably mounted within the upper compartment for rotatablymounting the rotor about a vertical axis extending downwardly into saidflow passage, a casing mounted by the frame means in enclosing relationto said rotor and forming a partition between the upper and lowercompartments, said casing having an axial intake portion in close spacedrelation to the baflie means and a tangential discharge portion alignedwith the outlet opening, and a drive motor fixedly mounted by the framemeans Within the upper compartment and drivingly connected to the rotor.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said cabinet includes a housinghaving front, side, top and bottom wall portions enclosing the upper andlower compartments, upper and lower rear wall sections removably mountedby the housing respectively closing the upper and lower compartments,said inlet openings being formed in the lower rear wall section andfront wall portion and said outlet opening being formed in the frontwall portion of the housing.

3. An evaporative cooler comprising, a cabinet having separate upper andlower compartments, inlet and outlet openings formed in said cabinetrespectively communicating with the lower and upper compartments, flowinducing means mounted within said upper compartment for establishing aflow of air through the lower compartment discharged through the outletopening, spaced absorption means mounted within said lower compartmentpresenting stationary porousiwalls forming an unobstructed flow passageterminated at opposite ends by said inlet openings for said flow of airthrough the lower compartment in spaced relation to the uppercompartment, flow blocking means within the lower compartment fordirecting said air transversely from said flow passage through theporous walls of the absorption means, and distributing conduit meanssupplying water to the absorption means for moisturizing the air passingthrough the porous walls thereof, said flow inducing means including atleast one bladed rotor, rigid frame means removably mounted within theupper compartment for rotatably mounting the rotor about a vertical aXisextending downwardly into said flow passage, a casing mounted by theframe means in enclosing relation to said rotor and forming a partitionbetween the upper and lower compartments, said casing having an axialintake portion and a tangential discharge portion aligned with theoutlet opening, and a drive motor fixedly mounted by the frame meanswithin the upper compartment and drivingly connected to the rotor, andimperforate bafiie means disposed below the intake portion of the rotorcasing and above the flow blocking means for preventing direct inflowinto the intake portion and discharge of moisture particles with the airfrom the outlet opening.

4. The combination of claim 3 wherein said cabinet includes a housinghaving front, side, top and bottom wall portions enclosing the upper andlower compartments, upper and lower rear wall sections removably mountedby the housing respectively closing the upper and lower compartments,said inlet openings being formed in the lower rear wall section and thefront wall portion and said outlet opening being formed in the frontwall portion of the housing.

5. An evaporative cooler comprising a housing having front, side, topand bottom wall portions, power operated blower means having a bladedrotor enclosed by a rotor casing, means partitioning the housing into anupper and lower compartment, means for removably mounting the blowermeans within the upper compartment, at least two evaporator padsremovably mounted within the lower compartment in engagement with thefront and bottom walls of the housing, a pan member bridging said padsto form an enclosed flow passage therebetween and having side troughportions in engagement with the pads, a lower rear Wall sectionremovably mounted by the housing closing the lower compartment andhaving an inlet opening aligned with said flow passage and engaging saidpads, an upper rear wall section removably mounted by the housingclosing the upper compartment, the front wall portion of the housinghaving an outlet duct aligned with the upper compartment through whichcooled air is discharged by the blower means, water supply means mountedon the bottom wall forming a sump within the housing, water distributingmeans connected to the water supply means for conducting water to thetrough portions of the pan member, said trough portions having aperturesthrough which the water enters the pads to. moisturize air passingtransversely therethrough from the flow passage, said rotor casinghaving an intake portion spaced from the flow passage for receiving saidair passing through the pads and a discharge portion aligned with anoutlet duct, and an imperforate baflle member disposed between theintake portion and the pan member blocking movement of water particlescarried by the flow of air induced by rotation of the bladed rotor, saidrotor casing being disposed above the flow passage closer to the frontwall portion than the upper rear wall section.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,976,401 10/1934Ilg -353 2,430,861 11/ 1947 Carpenter et a1 5590 X 2,628,083 2/1953Rense 55279 X 2,939,687 6/1960 Goettl 261-26 2,961,226 11/1960 Goettl261--97 X 3,046,718 7/1962 Ide et a1. 55-470 X FOREIGN PATENTS 675,41312/1963 Canada.

ROBERT F. BURNETT, Primary Examiner.

DANIEL K. DENENBERG, Assistant Examiner.

1. AN EVAPORATIVE COOLER COMPRISING, A CABINET HAVING SEPARATE UPPER ANDLOWER COMPARTMENTS, INLET AND OUTLET OPENINGS FORMED IN SAID CABINETRESPECTIVELY COMMUNICATING WITH THE LOWER AND UPPER COMPARMENT, FLOWINDUCING MEANS MOUNTED WITHIN THE SAID UPPER COMPARTMENT FORESTABLISHING A FLOW OF AIR THROUGH THE LOWER COMPARTMENT DISCHARGEDTHROUGH THE OUTLET OPENING, SPACED ABSORPTION MEANS MOUNTED WITHIN SAIDLOWER COMPRATMENT PRESENTING STATIONARY POROUS WALLS FORMING ANUNOBSTRUCTED FLOW PASSAGE TERMINATED AT OPPOSITE END BY SAID INLETOPENINGS FOR SAID FLOW OF AIR THROUGH THE LOWER COMPARTMENT IN SPACEDRELATION TO THE UPPER COMPARTMENT, FLOW BLOCKING MEANS WITHIN THE LOWERCOMPARTMENT FOR DIRECTING SAID AIR TRANSVERSELY FROM SAID FLOW PASSAGETHROUGH THE POROUS WALLS OF THE ABSORPTION MEANS, DISTRIBUTING CONDUITMEANS SUPPLYING WATER TO THE ABSORPTION MEANS THE AIR PASSING THROUGHTHE POROUS WALLS THEREOF, AND IMPERFORATED BAFFLE MEANS MOUNTED INSIDEOF THE CABINET SPACED ABOVE THE FLOW BLOCKING MEANS AND ADJACENT TO THEFLOW INDUCING MEANS IN THE PATH OF SAID AIR FLOW FOR PREVENTINGDISCHARGE OF MOISTURE PARTICLES WITH THE AIR FROM THE OUTLET OPENING,SAID FLOW BLOCKING MEANS COMPRISING A MEMBER BRIDGING THE POROUS WALLSOF THE ABSORPTION MEANS AND HAVING TROUGH PORTIONS ALIGNED WITH SAIDWALLS, SAID TROUGH PORTIONS HAVING APERTURES THEREIN THROUGH WHICH WATERFROM THE DISTRIBUTING CONDUIT MEANS REMOVABLY THE ABSORPTION MEANS, SAIDFLOW INDUCING MEANS INCLUDING AT LEAST ONE BLADED ROTOR, RIGID FRAMEMEANS REMOVABLY MOUNTED WITHIN THE UPPER COMPARTMENT FOR ROTATABLYMOUNTING THE ROTOR ABOUT A VERTICAL AXIS EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY INTO SAIDFLOW PASSAGE, A CASING MOUNTED BY THE FRAME MEANS IN ENCLOSING RELATIONTO SAID ROTOR AND FORMING A PARTITION BETWEEN THE UPPER AND LOWERCOMPARTMENTS, SAID CASING HAVING AN AXIAL INTAKE PORTION IN CLOSE SPACEDRELATION TO THE BAFFLE MEANS AND A TANGENTIAL DISCHARGE PORTION ALIGNEDWITH THE OUTLET OPENING, AND A DRIVE MOTOR FIXEDLY MOUNTED BY THE FRAMEMEANS WITHIN THE UPPER COMPARTMENT AND DRIVINGLY CONNECTED TO THE ROTOR.